Beverage bottle case



` May 7, 1968 5 L BELCHER ET AL 3,381,879

BEVERAGE BOTTLE CASE Filed Feb. 4, 1966 2 sheets-sheet' 1 m) 1 ag SemeLezior-:LCHEQ RQBERT v.. Deareock @y @D 1 71469;* 1.161. JM

May 7, 1968 s. l.. BELCHER ET AL 3,381,879

BEVERAGE BOTTLE CASE 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Feb. 4, 1966 lnemoz". sAmeL L.BELCHER y ROBERT r. DEBROCK @M75 M. 63,@ iz/ Qa-E ,Q'rr/S.

ABSTRACT i? THE DISCLQSURE The case of the invention is made from asingle piece of sheet plastic material which includes a bottom section,four opstanding rectangular side sections forming side walls of thecase, and flaps along the top edge of the side sections and also alongcorner edges of the side sections. A rigid, rectangular endless hoop lisretained at the top edge of the case, the top edge flap being foldedover the hoop and downwardly against the respective side section of thecase where these flaps are secured with the hoop retained 'between theflap and the respective side section. The corner edge flaps extend aboutthe corners of the case and are held in overlapping relation with anadjacent side section to reinforce the corners of the case. Raised seatsfor cushionin purposes and also openings for drainage purposes areformed in the bottom of the case, and two of the side walls of the casehave openings with a foldedover top edge to grasp when handling thecase. In the method of making the case, a blank is stamped out fromsheet plastic material, and the details such as the flaps, the raisedcushion portions, the drainage openings and the handle opening may beformed during this stamping step. The side walls are folded upwardly,the top flaps are folded about the reinforcing hoop, and the cornerflaps are folded about the corners of the case. The flaps are secured tothe side Walls of the case to complete the case.

This invention relates to containers and methods of making the same, andmore particularly to a plastic case which is made from a sheet ofplastic by stamping, folding and fastening steps.

Cases for carrying bottled products such as soft drinks, beer and otherbeverages have typically been made from wood. The case must be strongenough to withstand rough handling. Consequently, wooden pieces ofrather thick section are used and these are nailed or otherwise fastenedtogether to form the case. Due to the use of fairly thick pieces, thecase is somewhat bulky and awkward to handle as well as being somewhatheavy. Another disadvantage of wooden cases is that the wood absorbsmoisture and this can lead to rotting or other damage to the case.Sometimes some of the beverage is spilled on the case, and the moistureabsorbed in this manner may attract roaches or other undesirableinsects.

It has been proposed to make plastic cases by injection molding. Thematerial cost for such cases is high as is the cost of the molding dies.To keep costs down it is necessary to mold walls of thin section, butsome ditlicult molding problems are encountered when attempting to moldthin sections.

The case for bottled products according to the present invention is madefrom a single sheet of thin plastic material and so is lighter andeasier to handle than a wooden case. The plastic material is braced witha rigid metallic hoop at the top edge of the case. The combination ofsheet material and the metallic hoop is strong and will wi'hstand roughhandling even though the plastic material is quite thin. The plasticmaterial is water repellant so moisture absorption is not a problem.

The method of making the case is simplified by the use of a single pieceof sheet plastic for the body of the case.

3,38l,79 Patented May 7, 1h68 This plastic piece is folded along thefour borders of a rectangular bottom section to form the four side wallsof the case, and the tops of the side walls are folded over the rigidhoop and affixed to the side walls to provide a rigid top edge for thecase. Also incorporated into this top edge are side and/or end wallflaps cooperatively defining a peripheral reinforcement. Stamped outhandle openings are formed in two of the side walls, and an edge alongeach handle opening is folded over to provide a broader surface to graspwhen handling the case.

The bottom section of the case may have raised seats for bottles whichact as cushions under the bottles to absorb some of the shocks ofloading bottles in the case and of rough handling. These seats aredepressed from the outer bottom side of the case and are adapted toreceive the tops of bottles in an underlying case when cases arestacked, thus acting to retain such bottles in their proper positionsand to aid in stacking. Openings may also be formed in the bottomsection for drainage purposes.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a casefor beverage bottles consisting of a single folded piece of plasticmaterial.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of makin(7 a caseby stamping out, folding and fastening a Single piece of sheet plasticmaterial.

A further object of the invention is to provide a beverage bottle caseand a method of making it wherein aps along top edges of a foldedplastic sheet forming the body of the case are folded over a rigid hoopand aiiixed to the cases side walls, thereby reinforcing the top edge ofthe case.

Another object of the invention is to reinforce the corners of thefolded plastic case with flaps which extend about the corners of thecase and overlap the top edge ilaps of the adjacent side wall such thatall flaps may be secured to the side walls without additional fasteningmeans.

Among the other objects of the invention are to incorporate suitablecushioning seats in the bottom of the plastic case; to provide drainageholes in the bottom Wall; and to provide a straightforward and simplemethod of forming and assembling the case to make it economical tomanufacture on a mass production basis.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following descriptionand appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification wherein like reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts in the several views.

On the drawings FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a piece of plastic materialwhich has been stamped out from sheet plastic `according to a patternwhich allows the plastic piece to be folded so as to form a beveragebottle case;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded view of the stamped out plastic piece of FIGUREl in a partially folded condition, together with a rigid hoop to beincorporated in the case to reinforce its top edge;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the completed case;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of one corner of the case with materialcut away to show a flap folded around this corner to reinforce it;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional View taken on line S-S of FIGURE 3 showing aflap folded over the reinforcing hop and secured to a side wall of thecase;

FIGURE 6 is another sectional view taken on line 6 6 of FIGURE 3 througha staple which fastens the flap to the side Wall;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional View taken through a handle of the case; and

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view of a portion of the bottom wall of the caseshowing a raised seat and a drainage hole.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also,it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employedherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

As shown on the drawings tional means to a general overall cruciformconfigural tion. In the blank of FIGURE l, cut or shear lines are shownin solid lines and fold lines, depressions and the like are shown asdotted lines.

The case 10 is made from `a single piece 32 of sheet plastic materialwhich is stamped out from a larger sheet to give the piece the desiredconfiguration as shown in FIGURE l. The plastic piece 32 has arectangular central section 12 and four rectangular side sections 14,16, 18 and 20 which correspond respectively to the bottom and four sidewalls of the case 10 (FIGURE 3). Walls 16 and 20 in FIGURE 3 are the endwalls of the case, but the term side wall is used generically herein toinclude the end walls 16 and 20 as well as walls 14 and 18. Although thecentral section and side sections of the piece 32 are actuallyrectangular in the illustrated embodiment, for purposes of thisapplication it is intended that the term rectangular apply to a squareconfiguration as well since the square configuration is equivalent to atrue rectangular configuration. It may be seen in FIGURE l that the fourside sections respectively adjoin the bottom section at its four-borders or boundaries shown by dashed lines 34.

Two of the side walls 16 and 20 have handle openings 22 and 24 in them,and there are small inwardly bent tabs 26 (FIGURE 3 and 7) along the topedge of each of these openings which provide a broader surface at thehandles top edge to be grasped when lifting the case. The plasticmaterial of the case is thin, say one-sixteenth (1746) of an inch thick,so the tabs 26 broaden the top edge of the handle openings so that thoseedges will not cut into the fingers of a person lifting the case.

The longer side walls 14 and 1S have central panels within therectangular dashed lines 28 and 30 which are indented or recessedslightly inwardly of the case so as t0 provide some protection for therecessed panels. Thus, decoration may be provided on the recessed panelsand it will be protected from some of the rough handling to which a caseof this type is frequently subjected.

The bottom section 12 of plastic piece 32 has twentyfour (24) raisedseats 36 (see FIGURE 8) which act as cushions for bottles when they areloaded into the case. In a typical loading operation, the bottles areplaced in the case and released into the bottom section. Gbviously, somebreakage could result if they drop onto a hard surface. The raised seats36 are flexible enough to yield slighty and then spring back to theiroriginal condition so as to absorb some of the shock when bottles aredropped into the case. The seats are arranged in rows of six and columnsof four (FIGURE 1) to correspond with the usual pattern in which softdrink bottles or other bottles are provided in cases. There are aplurality of drain holes 38 in the bottom of the case which allow wateror other moisture to drain out. There are also cut-out apertures orrecesses 40 at the four corners of the bottom section 12 providingfurther drainage outlets which are effective for example when the caseis held `at an angle to a horizontal position as is sometimes done whenthe cases are hauled by trucks. The handle openings 22 and 24 with theirtabs 26 are also formed in the plastic piece 32 as shown in FIGURE 1.

The portions of the side sections located outward of the dashed lines 42and 43 are aps 44 which are folded over a hoop when the case isassembled. Side sections 14 and 1S each have two additional flaps 46which project from corner edges of these side sections. The latter flaps46 are folded around the corners of the case when it is assembled so asto overlap the adjacent side wall and its top edge flap 44. Both flaps44 and 46 are then secured to the side walls as will be explainedfurther in connection with the method of making the case. It is evidentthat the corner aps 46 could be provided on end sections 16 and 20 orthat each of the sections 14, 16, 13 and 2l) could be provided with onecorner ap.

The first step of the method of making the case is to stamp the plasticpiece 32 out from a sheet of plastic material having an appreciablethickness, eg., on the order of one-sixteenth (1/16) of an inch.Suitable plastic materials are polyethylene and polypropylene. Thestamping step is done with dies which also form the raised sections 36,the panels 28 and 3G, and the cut-out details of the case all in onestamping operation. The stamping dies have portions for forming theraised seats 36 by cold flow of the plastic material such that theplastic need not be heated in order to form these seats. The stampingdies also cut out the apertures 38 and 40, but the material withinapertures 38 is pushed out in a separate punching step. Tab 26 and flaps44 and 46 are delineated by the stamping dies by forming or creasing theappropriate fold lines. The dies form creases along the dual dashedlines 42 and 43 since the aps 44 are to be folded completely over, onefold being made along line 42 and another along line 43, to make a wideedge at the top edge of the case and a loop in which the hoop isretained. Furthermore, the indented panels of the side sections withinthe dashed lines 28 and 30 are also formed by cold ow of the materialdue to the configuration of the stamping dies. Thus, in a singlestamping step all of the details of the case are formed on the singlepiece 32 of plastic material.

To assemble the case, the side sections 14, 16, 18 and 20 are folded asin FIGURE 2 along the fold lines 34 between the side sections and thecentral section 12. When the side sections have been folded to anupright position, a rigid hoop 48, preferably made of tough metal, suchas steel, is placed inside the top edge of the case. The hoop 43 isrectangular to match the rectangular configuration desired for the topof the case and is strong enough to materially strengthen the top edgeof the case.

The corner fiaps 46 are folded around the corners of the case to overlapthe adjoining end sections 16 and 20. The top edge fiaps 44 are thenfolded over and about the metal hoop 48 to the configuration shown inFIGURE 5, and in this folded over position the aps 44 overlap the cornerfiaps 46 which have previously been folded. Flaps 44 are folded oncealong line 42 and again along line 43 to provide an overall 180 fold.

The flaps 44 and 46 are then stapled together and to the respective sidesections so as to firmly hold the hoop 48 in place and to reinforce thecorners of the case by means of the corner aps 46. A staple 50 is shownextending through a flap 44 and the side section 18 in FIG- URE 5. Thisbrings the case to its final configuration as shown in FIGURE 3.Although staples have been illustrated as the means for securing theflaps to the side Walls, there are many alternatives. The fiaps can beriveted, heat sealed, ultrasonically sealed or sealed with adhesive.

The manner in which the top edge flaps overlap the corner flaps may beseen in FIGURES 4 and 6. A corner flap 46 of side section 14 extendsaround the corner of the case and is tucked underneath the top edge flap44 of side section 16. The staple 50 extends through both of the flaps44 and 46 and holds them firmly anchored to the side wall 16. Theaperture 40 at the corner of the bottom section 12 of the case is alsovisible in FIGURE 4.

Thus, the invention provides a light-weight, easy-tohandle case forbeverage bottles which consists of a single piece of plastic materialfolded to the desired wall conguration and a rigid hoop which stiiensthe top edge of the case. The water-repellent nature of the plasticmaterial gives it a denite advantage over wooden cases since spilledbeverages or other liquids are not absorbed by the case. The case may bestored in wet areas and food or beverage products may be iced in thecase if desired. The case will carry loose bottles and will also acceptcartons of smaller groups of bottles such as those known as sixpacks.Separators or dividers may be used in the case if desired, but they arenot essential.

The method of assembling the case depends on folding over integralportions of the single plastic piece from which the case is made andsecuring certain folded over portions together so as to aflix thereinforcing hoop to the top edge of the case. All of the detail of thecase is formed by a stamping operation which keeps the processing of thematerial to a minimum. The folding steps are easy to carry out either byhand or by machine, and relatively little labor is involved inassembling the case.

We claim:

1. A case for bottled products comprising a single piece of sheetplastic material having a rectangular bottom section and four upstandingrectangular side Sections forming the four side walls of said case, saidside sections each having a ap along an edge thereof at the top of saidcase, a rigid, rectangular and endless hoop at and reinforcing the topedge of said case, said flaps being folded over and about said hoop anddownwardly against the respective side section of said case, and meanssecuring said folded over aps to said side sections and thereby formingloops in which said hoop is retained between each flap and therespective side section at the top of said case.

2. The case of claim 1 wherein each of said flaps has two closely spacedparallel fold lines at the top edge of said case, each ap being foldedat right angles once along one of said fold lines and folded at rightangles again along the other of said fold lines to provide an edgesubstantially wider than the thickness of said material at the top ofsaid case.

3. The case of claim 1 wherein said side sections have other flapsextending along corner edges thereof, said other aps extending about thecorners of said case and being held in overlapping relation with anadjacent side section.

4. The case of claim 3 wherein said first named flaps overlap saidcorner flaps.

5. The case of claim 4 wherein said securing means comprises fastenersextending through said flaps and said side sections securing said flapstogether and to said side sections.

6. The case of claim 1 wherein two opposite ones of said side sectionshave openings therein providing handles for lifting said case, and saidopposite side sections each have a folded over edge portion along thetop side of said opening therein providing a gripping edge wider thanthe thickness of said sheet to be grasped at said handle.

7. A case for bottled products comprising a single piece of semi-rigidsheet plastic material having a rectangular bottom section and fourrectangular side sections all extending at substantially right angles tosaid bottom section on the same side thereof to form the four side wallsof said case, said side sections each having a first flap along a topedge thereof and said side sections having second aps along corner edgesthereof, a rigid, rectangular and endless hoop at and reinforcing saidtop edges of said side sections, said first aps extending over and aboutsaid hoop and downwardly against the respective side section to retainsaid hoop at the top of said case and each having fold lines at the topof said case, and said second aps extending about the corners of saidcase and each having a portion overlapping a first flap of an adjacentside section, and means securing together said aps and said sidesections.

8. The case of claim 7 wherein at least one of said side sections has anindented portion protected from scuing by the non-indented remainder ofsaid side section.

9. A beverage bottle case comprising a rigid, rectangular and endlesshoop, a single piece of sheet plastic material depending from said hoop,said plastic piece comprising a first rectangular section parallel tosaid hoop forming a bottom wall for said case, and four rectangular sidesections integral with and generally perpendicular to saidI bottomsection forming the four side walls of said case, each of said sidesections having a flap portion along a top edge thereof folded over saidhoop and downwardly against the respective side section of said case,said flaps being secured to said side sections with said hoop retainedunder the folded over portion of said ap and between said flap and saidrespective side section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,216,147 10/1940 Ward 220-732,892,561 6/1959 Frank 220-73 3,100,056 8/1963 Friday 220-1 3,294,30812/1966 Tress et al. 220-3.5

DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner.

